Unlike most of his kids, Shaquille O’Neal’s first-born with former partner Arnetta Yardbourgh grew up away from the spotlight. Taahirah grew up in the suburbs of Texas, and she said that she kept away from the buzz until she was probably 17 or 18. She was part of Shaq’s HOF speech where the 4x NBA champion laid out future plans for his 6 children but was given complete freedom in choosing her path. And the eldest child now has created a family atmosphere like no other for her grandmother Lucille.

“Teamed up with @jw_event rentals to plan a surprise party for my Grandmother’s 70th birthday! 🤗✨,” she wrote on her Instagram stories. A real-life poster had ‘Celebrating Lucille’s 70th Birthday’ with a rose in the background. There was even a 70 Marquee number light sign in white with golden, red, and black balloons above the sign. And a gift table beside the poster was already filled with the family members’ gifts. But it was all done to make the matriarch of the Shaquille O’Neal family feel more special.

Taahirah wrote in one of her stories, “We flew in over 25 members of our family to surprise her. She was absolutely shocked!” The room full of guests started clapping and cheering for Lucille’s entry. Some might have missed the Big Aristotle’s entry in the story if they blinked.

Taahirah who shares her birthday month with her grandmother, recreated an old fond memory. She added another story holding an old photograph of Lucille and her 3 siblings and the 4 of them present on stage. In his HOF speech, Shaquille O’Neal thanked his uncle and aunts for being a strong support system while growing up. “Uncle Roy, Aunt Vivy, Aunt Velma because of the love and generosity of family, mom and I always had a place to lay our heads.”

Shaq had plans for the 27-year-0ld too which he said during his HOF speech. But just like the children, even Taahirah was given the freedom to choose her path for the future.

Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter chose her own path

During the speech, Shaq said, “She(Taahirah) doesn’t know this yet but after she graduate from college she will be attending law school.” However, Taahirah graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Plus a minor in Politics and African American studies.

That led her to work at PepsiCo from 2020 until recently, where she was part of the social media marketing and community outreach specialist. And she was given no special treatment during her work at PepsiCo. After claiming to have no interest in working for her father, Taahirah is part of the Communications team for O’Neal.

Speaking to Jordan Davis on her podcast, Do I Know You, Taahirah spoke about the nature of work at the former company. The copy of her work would be checked by a good 12 people before being published. The company followed the principles for everyone because something could mean one thing to one person and culturally just mean something completely different to someone else.

The experience of working in communications for 5 years helped her massively for Big Chicken Shaq. With over 300 units in development nationwide, the fast-food chain has recipes from Shaquille O’Neal’s mother Lucille. How lucky that both granddaughter and son are celebrating her legacy every step of the way.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.